


Through the Wire

by Ficfrog



Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 13:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28779396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ficfrog/pseuds/Ficfrog
Summary: Tillie wanted to just get on with her job within the administration division within Arasaka, but from a chance encounter with her previous colleague-turned-mercenary V turns her life upside down.Let's not start on the terrorist parasite himself either.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	1. Average Work Day

Although her apartment was comfy, her bank account was fatter than it had been in years, and her health was overwhelmingly great, Tillie was unhappy.

She leaned back in her desk chair, staring forward at the monitor of her computer, blinking with emails to be read and frowned, long red nails tapping rhythmically along the wooden paneling of the desk and sighed. _If I'm not careful, I'll have therapy calling me._ Stretching her legs under her desk, relishing the click of her joints, stiff from disuse, she sat up and began to open her emails to start her day. 

Back to the original statement - why was Tillie unhappy? She had everything - she climbed from the streets of Heywood, avoided joining gangs, paid off her own debts as well as her parents, she had health care - all she could narrow it down to was the fact she was incredibly, heartbrokenly lonely. Who would have thought that loneliness existed in a place like Night City? Jammed to the brim full of people itself. 

Tillie liked to think she had friends, but the term could be used pretty loosely, more like acquaintances. People she called friends were either dead, out of town, or had their own shit to deal with. Perhaps she pushed them away when she made the climb up the corporate ladder? Who knows. _It's not like they're missing out on much._

Arthur Jenkins' name blinked on her monitor like an omen and she felt her frown deepen further, clicking open his email as slowly as possible and reading the contents - _just processing data, the shit he should be doing._ _V wouldn't have let him get away with this shit._ She blinked, V - a name she hadn't thought of since he left. He was a funny dude, hair shaved always down to the scalp, looking like a corporate soldier, was always honest with her too, was perhaps the closest thing to a friend she had at Arasaka before he up and left, no goodbyes or anything. She clicked open the calendar on her computer and tabbed through the months since he had left - _dude has been gone eighteen months, where even is he now?_

Bringing up the internal database, she began to type in his name for his records, just purely out of curiosity, and frowned once again, no records of Vincent Rhea anywhere. Quickly returning to processing the data that Arthur sent her before he kicked her ass, she stood up from her desk and walked towards the communal kitchen, ready to grab a cup of coffee. The click of her heels was soothing along the wooden floor, and she was always early enough in the office that very few of her colleagues were around to disturb her from her morning. 

As she began to make her morning coffee, she couldn't help but wonder about V, a feeling of remorse sweeping over her like an omen. He was a friend, he helped her out as much as he could when she started at Arasaka, and just up and left - why? In the midst of pouring her coffee, her vision lit up from an incoming call from her boss, and she grimaced as she accidentally poured some on her hand. Quickly putting her hand under cold water, she answered the call, trying to not hyperventilate from the burn on her hand.

"Smith, you there already?" She sighed and muttered a hello, the flush of the cold water soothing her burned skin. "Listen, I am in deep shit, can you do me a favour?"

"Another favour?"

"You know me, I love to rack em' up, besides, if you let me take you out to dinner, it could pay off some of the favours I owe ya. Come on, Til', cut me some slack, really need ya this time." If there was one thing that her boss was good at, it was appealing to her sense of helping others. 

"Alright James, what is it?" Ripping a paper towel from the side of the kitchen, she pressed it against her hand and leaned against the counter, coffee sitting idly beside her as she stared at her boss's reflection in her eyes. James smiled, pointing some finger guns her way before he sent over co-ordinates, the red flashing across the screen of her vision as she processed the information. 

"I'm gonna need you to head on over to Konpeki Plaza and pick up some documents for me, I got a meeting at nine and I don't have the time to grab em' - something for the Westbrook building we're doing. Just grab em' from reception and chuck em' on my desk, capiche?" She nodded before he thanked her, clicking off the call before she could even argue. With another sigh, she took a sip of her coffee, relishing the burn down her throat before she tipped the remainder of it down the drain and tightened her pony tail. Checking the time - 4.30am - she hailed a company vehicle for Konpeki, and made her way to the elevator. 

Leaning at on the handrail, watching her descent down to the ground floor, she caught her reflection in the metal of the elevator, her ruby lips always in a permanent frown, her red eyes piercing straight back at her - she looked ever like the corpo rat she had become. Brushing her hand through her bangs, she noted she needed a trim and to sort out her undercut before stepping out into the cold of Night City. 

* * *

Even though her job was comfy enough for her, she doubted that her wage could muster up even one night's accommodation at Konpeki Plaza, the place was so extravagant that even she couldn't even afford to walk into the building, let alone stay at it. Alerting for the company driver to keep the engine running, she walked forward up the steps to the hotel, comfortably standing in line for security before entering. 

The reception was grander than the outside as she took a moment to take in her surroundings before spotting reception and walking up to it. A gilded receptionist glinted back at her before bowing slightly, hands poised in front of her, ever the servant.

"Welcome to Konpeki Plaza, how can I help you today?" 

"Picking up some documents for James Barnes, he said they would be here?" The robot nodded before pulling open a drawer, retrieving a manila folder and sliding it along to Tillie on the desk. The brunette nodded a thanks, slipping the folder into her handbag before the lights shut off in the room, a red glow replacing the harsh white light. Tillie froze and looked around, gripping her handbag tightly as the receptionist hid under the desk of her domain. Guards sprinted forward from doorways that Tillie hadn't even noticed, one barging past her shoulder, almost dislocating the joint.

"What...the fuck?" 

"Get down!" Another guard pushed her to the floor before dragging her behind the desk, arm gripping her own enough to almost snap it in half. 

"What's going on--" There was a pop of gunfire from a few floors above and Tillie felt herself freeze under the grip of the guard who had pulled her behind the desk. He stood up and looked down at her, her disheveled Arasaka uniform, one of her shoes had slid off in the process of him 'protecting her', she must have looked like an idiot.

"Intruders. Stay calm." He motioned for her to stay low and stalked off, green lights from rifles ricocheting around the room as they began to search the area, passing over objects ominously. Tillie sat up and stared over the desk, watching the multitude of guards walk around the rooms, clearing them one by one and frowned, _there are way too many guards for this to be a normal thing._ Suddenly, more gunshots echoed throughout the room, before the several guards remaining around her began to fire, their bullet casings hitting the floor like a symphony of chaos. 

Tillie shot back down to the floor and clutched her ears, dampening the sound of the guns firing and closed her eyes, sending a silent prayer to _whoever the fuck was up there_ that she would get out of this okay. Sensing a shuffle beside her, she cracked open one eye, expecting to see the receptionist, only to see a gun barrel pointed point blank between her eyebrows. Her eyes followed the barrel, up the arm of its bearer, and straight into the blue eyes of V Rhea himself. 

"What the fuck?" She whispered, and recognition filled V's eyes instantly. Lowering the gun, he held out his hand to her and she gripped it, allowing herself to be pulled up, not before noticing the bodies littering the floor of the reception. As if he didn't just _murder an entire room of people_ , he opened his arms and enveloped her in a hug, which Tillie awkwardly returned with a polite pat on his back, shock still filling her body and numbing her to the situation. He stepped away from her, arms extended to rest on her shoulders as a broad, tall man approached in a suit, limping as blood soaked his abdomen.

"Tillie! Whatcha doin' here? Long time." She didn't know what to say, so she just shrugged, taking in both V and the man bleeding in front of her. V patted her shoulder affectionately, dusting off something on her shoulder before he turned to his partner.

"Jackie, this is Tillie - friend from Arasaka." The other man nodded to her, breathing heavily from the wound before V turned back to her and lightly punching her shoulder. "I gotta get goin', things to do, you still got the same number?" She nodded dumbly and he smiled, tucking his gun into his pocket and helping Jackie with his arm looped around his shoulders. "Will catch up, see ya T!" Tillie watched as V and Jackie slowly made their way to the elevator, wondering what the _fuck just happened._


	2. Lizzie's

It had been some time since the events of Konpeki Plaza before Tillie was allowed to return to work. They had dubbed it as 'stress leave' but she knew for a fact that due to her affiliation with V, they were checking out every instance of her life, searching through every record to ensure she wasn't associated with the terrorist in anyway. Terrorist V, something she thought she would never, ever hear in a sentence - something that just felt off. Even though the events of Konpeki Plaza were that of terroristic nature, she couldn't help but not feel like it was true.

She had worked with the guy for sometime, she knew his thoughts, his feelings about things, hell - he admitted to enjoying the Adventures of Scooby Doo at his current age over a beer one day. A dude who loves Scooby Doo does not commit acts of terrorism. But how would she know? It's not like she dealt with terrorists on a daily basis. Tillie sighed as she made her way into her office, noting her desk had been cleared of all of her things and dumped into a nearby box.

Arasaka had done a thorough job of going through her things, that's for sure. 

Sitting down in her chair, she adjusted her pony tail and stared forward at her screen, the blue and black glow staring back at her, a multitude of emails backdating until a month ago when Konpeki Plaza had occurred, and Tillie groaned, tapping her nails along the wooden paneling of her desk before getting to work. She created a script apologising for her leave and began to copy and paste it to responses, altering them in a way that made it seem more personal to who she was replying to, and she felt herself fall into a daze as she scanned emails and drafted responses. 

While she worked, she couldn't help but revisit Konpeki Plaza once again, over-analyzing every detail in hindsight. Sure, the incident itself wasn't exactly traumatising on her behalf, but she just didn't expect to see V there, to see him smiling, to see him so free. She felt a feeling well within her gut, something she couldn't quite describe as she reexamined his smile in her minds eye, his crooked teeth, the glint of excitement in his eyes, his posture -- everything about him, and then it clicked to her, like someone snapping a book shut.

She felt jealousy for him. He had no obligations, he had nothing else, and Tillie was honestly jealous of that. V was in a stage of his life where he could waltz into Konpeki Plaza like nothing mattered, steal a piece of technology, kill the CEO, and walk out as if nothing mattered. Tillie couldn't do that if she tried - the stress of her job, one she wanted to keep, the idea that she had succeeded in her family and was something they were proud of was a heavy weight for her to bear. This made Tillie pause in her typing, taking a moment to lean back into her chair as the blue glow of her monitor streamed onto her face. 

What did she want from life? From anything?

She wanted kids, she wanted a nice place, she wanted her family to be happy, but what did she actually want? Perhaps this was something that she was taught to want, perhaps she had no idea what she wanted at all? Tillie's nails continued their stride along her desk, the drumming almost soothing to her as she considered her answers before a flash of red circled her vision from an unknown number. Sighing, she answered the call, a tired frown painting her face as she waited for the call to begin.

"Hey T, you're a hard lady to reach!" She jumped up and ran to her office door, slamming it shut before addressing the man on the other side of the call.

"What the fuck are you doing calling me? Are you a fucking idiot?" She sneered, and V just shrugged, running a bandaged hand over his shaven head as if it wasn't the end of the world. 

"It's an encrypted call, choom, it ain't gonna hurt ya." She spluttered, waving her hands around as if they would convey the message of frustration she felt before he hushed her with a sigh. "Nice to see ya too, T, listen, I got a favour--"

"A fucking favour? What the fuck?" She felt her voice screech as she rounded her desk and slouched in her desk chair, her nails tapping once again on her desk. V silently stared forward, and Tillie considered that perhaps the connection was fried before he shook his head, addressing her once again.   
  
"It's important, T. Listen, let's grab a drink--"

"You want me to fucking grab a drink with you after the shit you pulled?"

"Yes. See you at Lizzie's at 7.00pm, adios choomba!." He grinned before she had the option to decline and Tillie picked up the nearest object in her vicinity, a defunct paperweight, and hurled it at her closed door.

* * *

As much as she didn't want to be there, curiosity won her over as Tillie stared forward at the glowing sign of Lizzie's, her ruby frown making her probably appear far older than she actually was as she forced herself to walk into the building, shoulders tense and fists clenched. Pushing past the bouncer and into the dance floor, she made her way into the bar and ordered a martini, sitting at the bar and grumpily sculling it back before tapping the bar counter for another. 

Why did she come here? What was the point of this? She bit the olive off with her teeth and threw the toothpick to the side of her glass, throwing the drink back once again and humming as the burn of the alcohol made her shoulders relax, tapping the bar for another drink. God, would her mother be proud of this display of self-preservation. The bartender gave her a side-eye before making her another as she slouched forward, looking almost like a dejected teenager as she scanned her emails in her eye, feeling very content in her own bubble of self-hatred before she felt a two-finger tap on her shoulder. 

Sculling back another drink, she spun around on her bar stool and glared at V, who smiled back at her, flicking his head towards a booth in the corner of the room. She huffed and followed him, digging her hands into her pant pockets and stalking through the dancers on the floor, her face almost beginning to ache from the frown that has become a permanent fixture across her face. V slid into the booth first and motioned for her to take a seat, to which she did with another heavy sigh. Linking her fingers together, she regarded him, noticing the pale pallor of his skin, the iridescent colouring of his veins through the pallor, how _tired he was_ \-- 

_Nope, don't give a fuck, he isn't good news Tillie._

"You look good." He muttered, a waitress arriving with a beer bottle as he smiled, thanking her with a sip of the beer. Tillie stared forward at him through her lashes, waiting for him to speak again and he sighed, putting the beer bottle down with a quiet clink. The noise of the dance floor was a nice buffer for their conversation, but Tillie doubted she could get away with smashing the beer bottle over his smug face.   
  
"How's Arasaka?" As if he had just pissed all over her last nerve, she pointed a long nail angrily at him, feeling a snarl over take her face before she could stop it.

"You should know, motherfucker, they went through all my shit, reduced pay, they contacted my whole family asking how I knew a fucking terrorist--" V held up his hands in surrender, blinking from the clipped nature of her tone before shaking his head.

"Hey, I didn't go into that to be a terrorist, and for your information--" She spluttered, her hands flying around in indignation before settling back into her nervous tapping of acrylic against the wood of the booth table. She breathed in a deep sigh, just like her therapist taught her, before she regarded him once again.

"I don't give a fuck V, what is it you want?" He took another sip of his beer, keeping his gaze on her face before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, settling the beer bottle down on the table, a look of seriousness pained along his features. 

"I need you to look something up for me--" Before he could finish it, she screeched once again, moments of meditation that she was trying to enforce quickly evacuating her body like she was on fire.

"You want me to fucking do _what?_ " He smiled, something that normally would temper her anger into hilarity which in this situation only made her so much madder. He took another sip of his beer before giggling at her indignant expression, motioning to the waitress nearby for two more. 

"This is life or death, T. I need you for this. I'd do the same for you." She wanted to argue, but all she could do was stare at him like a gaped fish. The sincerity in his gaze hitching a place in her heart and her willingness to help people was preventing her from saying no. It was the reason she was here in the first place. The waitress set two more beers down in front of her and Tillie grabbed one, sculling it back, cringing from the burn that was tearing down her esophagus before she set it down, now empty, with a loud clunk. V watched on, eyes wide as she took a napkin nearby and patted her mouth, examining the red lipstick that had smeared off in the process. With a sigh, she leaned forward, chin on her linked palms and stared at him, mouth crooked into a frown.

"What do you need?" As if he were a child on Christmas, V clapped his hands together with glee before pulling a shard out of his back pocket and sliding it across the table. She watched as it lay in the center of the table, the red of it's edges dulled by the light of the dance floor. 

"It's all on there, T. I knew I could count on you." He slapped some notes on the table and slipped out of the booth, giving her a two finger salute before he left her with her thoughts.


	3. Conspiracy

Tillie stared forward at the shard that sat by her keyboard and frowned at it, arms crossed over her chest and her legs splayed in front of her, crossed at the ankle. V wanted her to look at information on an Anders Hellman, the name sounded familiar to her, but judging by the fact that V was a wanted criminal, if she looked Anders up on her computer at work, she would surely get picked up if Arasaka knew that V was looking for him.

She sighed, leaning forward and resting her head on her desk, thumping her fist against it. 

"What the fuck am I doing." She muttered, the hair of her pony tail tickling the back of her neck as she closed her eyes. She can't pretend that she received an email querying Hellman, because if Arasaka picked up her looking into the guy, she would need to provide proof of said email. She also can't say she just casually bumped into a guy on the street who asked, because knowing Arasaka, they'd try and pull a visual from her on him. Sitting up, she leaned on the palm of her hand and frowned, her reflection in her monitor staring back at her. The Tillie she saw in the reflection looked tired, and she knew if she didn't get a proper sleep, she'd have her therapist calling her regarding her elevated blood levels. 

Sitting back in her desk chair, she kicked off her heels and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling, her ruby nails continually tapping against her desk as she pondered her situation. She didn't want to say no to V, but she also _did_ want to say no to V. She had no obligation to help him, but she kind of felt like she did have an obligation to him. They were friends - he was the only one who remembered her birthday, for fuck sake. 

Sighing, she turned on her monitor, blinking away the blue light and pulled up the directory of the staff at Arasaka, scrolling through employees but not clicking their profiles to avoid being traced for suspicious activity before blinking, a name standing out to her in her search. She felt her lips quirk at the sight before she dialed his extension, the numbers flickering in her eyes as she leaned forward on her desk. 

"Akihiro, how are you?" She smiled, hoping it came across as coy instead of nervous as the man from Research and Development's Recruitment smiled at her.

"Tillie! What a surprise, what are you calling me for?" 

"Just wanted to know if you were down for that drink you offered me?" Akihiro blinked, the glint of his glasses sharp in her eyes as he sputtered, adjusting his tie before nodding, a visible flush spreading across his cheeks. 

"Great! I've been thinking about you, _a lot..._ " She tilted her head, dragging her hand along her neck and through her pony tail, hoping it added some allure to the conversation. She sure as shit was not a seductive woman in the slightest, but if she was going to get any information out of anybody without looking like a fucking traitor, she was going to have to use what she had, and all she had at this stage was the one-sided, school boy crush of Akihiro Yamaguchi. 

"Yeah, no worries, I'd love to have a drink--"

"Great. Tonight work for you?" Akihiro swept a nervous hand through his hair, nodding once again, face now red as she smiled, twiddling her fingers in goodbye and sending Akihiro the time to meet. As soon as the call ended, Tillie felt the smile drop from her face, rubbing her jaw of the tense feeling that lingered there. Guilt sat heavily in her gut as she stared at her monitor, Akihiro was a nice choom, but what she was doing was a total dick-move, she just hoped that V knew that.

Sitting up, she began to delve into her work, sliding the shard into her bra - this shit would be all for nothing if she got caught before she could be of any help.

* * *

The day crawled to a sudden stop as soon as it hit 6.00pm, and Tillie slid her heels back onto her feet and began to stalk towards the door, a few heads swinging in her direction as she walked. She never left on time, so this must have been a new thing for her co-workers to see as she made her way to the elevator. Ignoring the stares, she stabbed at the button and readjusted her handbag on her shoulder, unable to stop the frown painted on her face as she waited. Again, Akihiro was a nice choom, simple, she wasn't going to do anything to hurt the dude, all she needed was information.

She sure as shit wasn't going to sleep with him either.

The doors opened finally as she stepped forward, relishing being alone in the confined space before digging through her purse for her lipstick. Leaning forward in the reflection, she began to apply it, puckering her lips as she made her descent. Slapping her cheeks a bit, she stared back at herself, unbuttoning her uniform slightly and adjusting her bra, hoping she looked at least somewhat sexy in the black uniform provided. 

As soon as the doors opened, Tillie stalked forward to the doors of the building, spotting Akihiro before he even saw her. He stood at 5'8, suit impeccable as always, fingers laced in front of him as he looked around. She took a deep breath in and brightly called his name, smile so wide she felt like she was someone else. He must have thought it was strange too as he took a step back, readjusting his glasses and tie at her smile before giving her a simple wave in return. Rocking her hips from side to side, she walked up to him, sliding her hand over his arm and leaning in for a hug.

"It's so good to see you, Aki - how have you been?" He flushed, giving her a polite shrug before they began to walk. She looped her arm through his as they strolled, a small voice in the back of her head telling her that she was laying it on a bit too thick. Her lips twitched at the thought, pushing it far back into the recess of her mind as Akihiro spoke about his day. 

"It was fine, I was pleasantly surprised to hear from you, Tillie, especially since the last time we met--"

"I poured my drink on you, I am _so sorry_ about that Aki, that was a total misunderstanding." He smiled at her and she returned it. Tillie was still mad about that - company-wide work party, she said no to his advances, he grabbed her ass, she threw a drink at him. V would have had a hernia if he saw-- _don't think about V. Stay on game._ They walked and made small talk about the office and she giggled here and there at his jokes, although she didn't understand some of them, as she led them to a nearby bar, tucked away down an alley way, far from foot traffic.   
  
Walking through the door, Tillie observed that nothing of the bar had changed since she was last there and lead Akihiro to a seat in the back corner on auto-pilot. She hadn't been here since V was working with her and hadn't been back since his leaving party. Akihiro pulled out her stool, like a _perfect gentleman_ , and slid off his jacket, hanging it on the back of his own chair before motioning to the bar. 

"My treat, what would you like?" Tillie tilted her head to the side, the smile on her face beginning to ache.

"Scotch, on the rocks, please." He gave her two thumbs up before sauntering to the bar, and her smile dropped, her hand dipping into the pocket of his jacket and feeling around for something significant, _anything significant_ , that she could give V. Feeling something solid, she pulled out a black case, locked with a code, a piece of tape spread across the front with 'archives' written in black ink. Leaning back, she slipped it into her purse and leaned forward, resting her chin on her linked fingers as she stared at Akihiro's back, watching him rest his hands on the counter of the bar before turning around and giving her a shy smile. Tillie smiled widely back at him, wiggling her fingers and inwardly cringing at the flush that spread across his face. _I am such a fucking cunt._

The bar was mostly empty, but it didn't stop Akihiro from stumbling slightly with their drinks as he waltzed across the room to their table, settling hers down slowly in front of her. She thanked him before picking it up and sculling the drink back, ice hitting her lips as she finished the drink, the liquor burning down her throat. Akihiro stared as he sat down, picking up his own glass as she dabbed her mouth with a napkin before taking a tentative sip of his own concoction.

"Bad day, huh?" He muttered over the lip of her drink and she smiled, settling the glass down and humming in response. She ran her hands over her clothed thighs, hoping the sweat generated from her nerves wasn't as bad as she hoped it was as she leaned forward, resting her cheek against her palm.

"So, how's the recruitment drive going? For research and development?" He swallowed his drink, nodding before returning her smile, awkwardly picking at his napkin in front of him. 

"It's been good, slow but good. Lots of candidates--"

"I saw this really cool choom the other day, he might make a good candidate." Akihiro blinked, adjusting his glasses before giving her a blank stare. 

"Is this what this is? You have a friend you want to get into Arasaka?" Tillie sputtered, hand against chest, hoping it was at least a believable reaction as she spoke.

"What? No! I just saw this article of this guy who was top notch, figured he'd be good for you - and probably would be a good bonus for you too." She leaned forward, sliding her hand towards his knee, watching him flinch from her touch. "I came out with you because I wanted to, Aki..."

He nervously coughed into a clenched fist, nodding slowly and taking another sip of his drink before giving her another awkward thumbs up. _Right, lets get this going._

"His name was like...Hell something, Helmsmen? Hells? Hellman?" 

"Anders Hellman?" 

"Yeah, that's the one! He looked like he knew his stuff!" She traced the lip of her empty glass, watching as Akihiro's gaze drifted to the motion before he let out a sigh, rubbing his fingers against the edge of his glasses, a nervous tick of his.

"Yeah, I know him. Word on the street is he's tied up with Kang Tao, he used to be Arasaka." Akihiro muttered into the lip of his glass before taking another swig. Tillie nodded, removing her hand from his knee and motioning to the bartender from across the room for another drink before returning her attention back to Akihiro.

"So, no go?" She pouted, noting the flush rising up from her companion's neck. He shook his head, beginning to tear the napkin in front of him while a waitress set another scotch down for Tillie, and another drink for Akihiro. She thanked the waitress, and decided to take it slow this time, sipping the drink as opposed to throwing it back, an old habit she had from when she used to drink with V. 

"So, how did you find this place?" Akihiro asked, small smile on his face. Tillie set her drink down and looked around, taking another look at the dead environment before smiling brightly at Akihiro, her jaw tensing in the motion.

"You remember V? Vincent? Yeah, this was our place." Akihiro nodded, smoothening down a small speck of five o'clock shadow above his lip as he observed the area. 

"He was a character. One time, he came into my office just so he could hide from your boss, ended up talking about the 2020 Superbowl." She could help but roll her eyes, that was definitely something V would have done, earning a laugh from Akihiro. 

"In his defense, it was a game to remember." He offered, and she sipped her drink again, shutting her eyes and feeling the liquid rush through her. 

"I hate sports." She felt herself mutter, reverting back to her true self for a split second as Akihiro nodded, sipping his drink. A light flashed behind her gaze, implying she had received a message and she stood up, excusing herself from the table to use the bathroom. Akihiro watched her walk away, and she grimaced at the feeling of his gaze on her ass. Pushing open the door and walking into nearby cubicle, she sat on the toilet seat, frowning at the unknown number dotted across her eyesight before opening the message.

_Your place, 8.00pm._

She looked at the time in the corner of her screen and sighed, it was only 7.00pm, she had an hour to get home. Standing up and flushing the toilet, she walked out of the cubicle and washed her hands, even though she actually didn't pee, she still felt gross, and made her way back to the table where Akihiro had switched seats, one next to hers, and had looped his arm around the back of her chair. Her eyes shot straight to her purse, where the case stuck out haphazardly from the zipper and she felt a surge of panic wash over her. Hastening her steps, she heels clicked against the wooden flooring as she stalked forward, gripping the bag strap of her handbag and swinging it over her shoulder, stuffing the case further down into her purse. 

"Sorry, gotta cut this short, Aki - thanks for the drinks, forgot something at the office."

"Wait--"

"Talk to you later!" She smiled her brightest smile as she walked away, guilt eating away at her like a parasite.

* * *

Tillie arrived home in 45 minutes, record time, and kicked off her heels as she paced through the door, face red from exertion as she had basically sprinted from the bar back to her home. Rolling her neck, she ignored the incoming calls and messages from Akihiro as she dropped her bag onto her sofa and stalked towards her wardrobe, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top and letting her hair out of its confinement atop her head.

She climbed back onto her sofa and massaged her feet, relishing the clicks as she released tension, her gaze drifting to the archives case in her purse. Leaning forward, she tentatively pulled it out, looking at the lock and racking her knuckles on it, as if it would magically open up. Sighing, she flung it next to her on the couch and leaned into the cushions, flicking on the TV, a news bulletin echoing throughout her apartment. 

She waited, even well after 8.00pm, but V was no where to be seen as she sunk further into her couch. He was always punctual at work, never ever late, so the idea of him not being on time was enough to be of concern, but as the clock began to click closer to 10.00pm, she felt her eyes begin to drift downwards, the buzz of the alcohol in her system leaving her drowsy as she found herself slipping into a slumber.

It wasn't until she heard a loud crash from inside her apartment that jolted her awake. The TV was still on, the time of 2.00am obnoxiously blaring in the corner of the screen as she jolted forward, turning around to find V stumbling around her apartment. 

"What the fuck, choom? Heard of knocking?" She screeched, cringing once again at the high-pitch of her voice. V shook his head, as if it was too high for him, eyes glazed and staring at her, unrecognising. She blinked and stepped forward, arm extended, holding his elbow as he was curled over. V shrugged her off and stood up straight, hand on hip as he regarded her, giving her a once over in her pajamas.

"What's wrong with you?" She muttered and he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tucking one into his lips as he stared through her. 

"...Are you drunk? V, you don't smoke--"

"You are pretty hot for a Corpo-Rat." She blinked, stepping back a few steps, staring at V with mouth agape, ignoring the fact he was smoking in her apartment, and the fact he broke into her place like some common thug.

"...right. So. I got some stuff that might be useful for you--"

"You would be pretty useful for me too, babe." Her mouth opened widened as she stared at V, never had she ever heard him, _ever_ , refer to someone as babe, let alone her. Turning around, she walked towards her kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out an opened bottle of wine before taking a swig, they were beyond her being classy now as she felt his eyes sweep over her frame. Settling the bottle down on the kitchen counter, she leaned forward on it and glared at V, smirk adorning his face.

"Who are you? Where is V?" 

"Oh babe, he's not here right now, can I take a message?" She felt her eyes narrow, her fingernails tapping as she quickly tried to come up with a situation to explain what the fuck was happening before V stalked forward, rounding the counter and grabbing her by the hips, dragging her flush against him.

"Whatcha say, honey? Want Silverhand to take care of you?" Curling up her fist, she plunged it into his gut, taking pleasure in watching him double over before stamping on his foot as hard as she could with bare feet and shoving him to the floor. He groaned, rolling onto his side as she swiped the bottle of wine and walked over him, stalking to her bedroom. Before she entered her room, she spun around and pointed a sharp finger at him as he gripped the counter, recovering from her rebuttal.

"We'll talk when you're not being such a fucking idiot." V smirked, a crooked smile that she had never seen before.

"Look forward to it, darlin'." 


End file.
